Reality of losing 40 lbs in 4 months

LadyG33

Is it possible to lose 40 lbs in 4 months? With proper nutrition and exercise. Or is this just doing more harm than good?

WifedUpMartin

I would say it depends on your weight. I have lost about 37 pounds in 4 months but I have a lot more to lose than a lot of people.

ckdub428

bump. I have a friend with these same goals.

Sparrow_Feet

Personally I think that's a big goal. Is it achievable though, yes. However, I feel you could be setting yourself up for disappointment and longer term issues. The faster you lose it the more susceptible you will be to putting it back on. The other thing is that you want your skin to shrink back and your body to look good....if you lose too quick you can have excess skin in places you don't desire it.

Just my opinion.

mkingraham

if you have A LOT of weight to lose and didn't eat remotely healthy to begin with or exercise at all, its completely possible for this happen as you may have A LOT of water weight. In general, I would say 10lbs a month is aggressive and if you lose weight too fast you could end up with saggy skin especially if your routine doesn't include weight lifting.

cm2two

you *only* have 54 to lose i think your ticker said - if your starting weight is really high then you can do it, but if you dont have a ton to lose then it's not very realistic BUT with that being said, shoot for half of that - THATS doable TOTALLY...and who knows, you might lose more

dryfli

i think losing 4-6 lbs per month is much more reasonable. and doable.

MikeCruzJr

If you lose the weight and don't compromise on nutrition you are doing good. People gain weight back when they starve their bodies for calories and nutrition. Losing 2 pounds per week is healthy and steady. Your body can tolerate that amount with no ill effects.

StaceyL76

They say that the average of 8lbs is a healthy goal. That is roughly 2lbs a week.

The date I set to reach my ultimate goal is December 18th (That sweet day I enter my 35th year of life). I have roughly 35lbs to lose to get there... That is a about 3.5 months. The scale is evil. So I decided a better goal was to wear a size 8 and look toned. I want folks to think "She is fit" (and of course fine as all get out hee hee)

Also, take pics and measurements every 4-6 weeks.. it sure helps when that scale is being a bastage.

So I do think it possible to lose 40lbs in 3 months... it would take massive dedication because you would need to lose more than 2lbs some weeks. The bigger a person is the more lbs they can drop in a shorter period of time.

I say shoot for the stars and be happy with your results no matter what they are - as long as you know you gave it your all. I bet if you aimed for 40 and lost 30 you would be thrilled!!!

You can do it!

jhardenbergh

as others have said it's possible if you have a bunch to lose I have lost 146 lbs since January 13th.

Lets_Do_It

Well I began April 7th (my profile says otherwise, but i began my diet april) and on August 7th I lost exactly 40 lbs. I must tell you- I ate between 800-1200 (i know it's bad, but i never have the time for a set time to exercise each day) I mean, don't get me wrong, I exercised like 3 times a week, swimming, walking, etc. But, it's possible. But on the days I ate 800 cals, the next week (yes, week!) I'd be dizzy when standing, almost passing out, etc. Other than that, I have been fine. Living each day, as if it were a normal day.

Edit: My start weight was 211, and my weight now is 163.2 :] Good luck!

xAdrianax

I have lost 36 pounds in 4 months and i started of at 196lbs, I think it can be done, i have seen a lot of my friends in the 30s in 4 months

slynn1234

I just did 30 pounds in less than 3 months so I am hoping 40 in 4 months is possible. I started at 5'3'' and 198... My goal is 140... I worked my butt of and ate super healthy. Depending on what yo have to lose and how you work towards your goal, it could be very possible.

JamesonsMommy

I can be done if you follow the right diet and work your butt off Good luck!!

StaceyL76

as others have said it's possible if you have a bunch to lose I have lost 146 lbs since January 13th.

Awesome!

LadyG33

I have always been a certain weight... and within the past year I have put on 50 lbs and in just 3 months, 20 lbs of that came on. My main issue was not eating enough calories daily. I eat healthy, but only a meal and a half a day with light exercise (desk job). But now I am really ready to lose the excess and get back to where I am most comfortable.

CharNordie

I can tell you from experience. I did it. I started at 175 and am down to 130 in 4.5 months. I did it by watching my calories, sticking between 1200-1300 calories. I don't have a crazy, fast metabolism or anything. And I have had two kids. I didn't exercise a ton. I had 4 nights in that time period where I "threw caution to the wind" and didn't count my calories. But other than that it was sticking to my guns and not falling into temptation. It was a lot of hard work but I did it!!!! you can too!!!

aliciarenee79

I was just thinking about this today. 4 months would be new years, and 40 lbs for me would be just under 200. I think I am going to shoot for this but not going to beat myself up if it doesn't happen.

LadyG33

@ char.... That is wonderful congrats. Yea I am not stressing if I don't do it; I have never been "skinny" or fit into the typical BMI area. My bone structure does not allow me to "look healthy" if I go by the actual BMI that is out there. I just want to get off the weight as quickly as it snuck on. Seems like it it just snuck up on me out of no where in just a few short months.

Chairless

Quite possible.

http://www.chairless.co.uk/images/months.JPG

In that time i havnt seen the inside of a gym nor have i eaten "cleanly" and have gone from 190 odd lbs to 157 since the end of June.

Just making sure more goes out than goes in day in day out has worked a treat, BMI now <25 from 30 odd.

AngelikaLumiere

I did it, but I have more than twice that yet to go. I did it by eating the minimum amount of calories (I do take vitamins and minerals everyday so that I am getting adequate nutrition.) and exercising 90-120 minutes a day, both strength and cardio (burned average 600 calories per day), drink PLENTY of water. I hope to keep loosing at close to that rate,but I have noticed that the calorie counter is giving me fewer calories burned as I loose weight so I will have to increase the exercise to continue at the same rate. Being healthy is what your goal should be, don't deprive your body of what it needs, it will only make you sick and hungry,

Brixxbri

Hi everyone, I'm brianna and I'm 18 years old and 5'5.
Long story short, I've been struggling with my weight here and there, but 3 months ago I made a huge change.
I weighed 203 pounds and now I weigh 180 pounds. I lost 23 pounds in 3 months and I think that's pretty good.
I workout 7 days a week, sometimes 6 depending how I feel and I always eat 1200 calories.
I never believe that bull**** where people say " you need to eat back your calories after workout " because I've done just fine NOT doing that. But I do still have a few questions for people who have done this already and were successful.
My day is:
Breakfast: 80 Calorie fiber one cereal.
Am snack: 1/4 cup of blueberries and 1/4 cup of strawberries with 2 raspberries
Lunch: grilled chicken with salad or tuna and peppers ( olive oil mayonnaise).
Pm snack: handful of unsalted almonds & celery
Dinner: grilled chicken with brown rice, and veggies.
I do not ever eat past 8:00 pm!

I'm very dedicated and I do have 1 cheat meal a week ( which stops me from snapping)!!!

Regarding my workout:
20 minutes of high intensity cardio (usually 8.0 mph then recover at 3.5 mph and continue that pattern).
Then I do 30 -40 minutes of strength straining ( weights, squating... ECT).


So I'm doing pretty good so far, my question is .... Anyone with experience ..... can I lose 40 - 50 pounds by June 1st?

I'm losing weight pretty fast... But I know it does slow down after you get to a low weight!


Please be helpful!

Thanks

kgeyser

Hi everyone, I'm brianna and I'm 18 years old and 5'5.
Long story short, I've been struggling with my weight here and there, but 3 months ago I made a huge change.
I weighed 203 pounds and now I weigh 180 pounds. I lost 23 pounds in 3 months and I think that's pretty good.
I workout 7 days a week, sometimes 6 depending how I feel and I always eat 1200 calories.
I never believe that bull**** where people say " you need to eat back your calories after workout " because I've done just fine NOT doing that. But I do still have a few questions for people who have done this already and were successful.
My day is:
Breakfast: 80 Calorie fiber one cereal.
Am snack: 1/4 cup of blueberries and 1/4 cup of strawberries with 2 raspberries
Lunch: grilled chicken with salad or tuna and peppers ( olive oil mayonnaise).
Pm snack: handful of unsalted almonds & celery
Dinner: grilled chicken with brown rice, and veggies.
I do not ever eat past 8:00 pm!

I'm very dedicated and I do have 1 cheat meal a week ( which stops me from snapping)!!!

Regarding my workout:
20 minutes of high intensity cardio (usually 8.0 mph then recover at 3.5 mph and continue that pattern).
Then I do 30 -40 minutes of strength straining ( weights, squating... ECT).


So I'm doing pretty good so far, my question is .... Anyone with experience ..... can I lose 40 - 50 pounds by June 1st?

I'm losing weight pretty fast... But I know it does slow down after you get to a low weight!


Please be helpful!

Thanks

You do realize that when you don't do that bull**** where you eat your exercise calories back, your net calorie intake is actually much lower than 1200 calories a day, right? And that you're losing muscle along with fat? You're basically on a VLCD, which is bad for a number of reasons, but most importantly, your HEART is a muscle - and cardiac muscle atrophy has been associated with VLCDs. Since it doesn't seem you are under a doctor's supervision and are probably burning a decent amount of calories with your exercise, you could be doing quite a bit of damage to yourself. Stop worrying about losing weight in a certain amount of time and worry about losing weight in a healthy way.

Mr_Knight

Is it possible to lose 40 lbs in 4 months? With proper nutrition and exercise. Or is this just doing more harm than good?

Yes, it is, assuming you actually need to lose more than 40 pounds. But it is damn hard work to do it right.

The "2 lbs a week" meme infecting MFP needs to be ditched - weight loss limits should be defined as percentages of non-lean body mass, not as incorrect absolute numbers that are constantly leading people down bad paths.

action_figure

It depends on where you're starting. I lost 50 lbs my first three months following MFP, but I started out at 347. Now I'm losing between 8 - 10 lbs per month.

Kevalicious99

i think losing 4-6 lbs per month is much more reasonable. and doable.

I like this one much better .. you probably didn't gain it in 4 months, so it is not a great idea to try to lose it in 4 months. Just saying.